The present invention generally relates to location-relevant information delivery systems and methods and, more particularly, relates to systems and methods of real-time location determination, location-relevant information display, user-interactive interfaces for selection of particular location-relevant information, and centralized editing and control of portable devices therefor.
Mapping and certain location information is accessible through the Internet, but requires Internet connectivity. User-interactivity and selection options for such mapping and information are limited to whatever may be available over the Internet. Various modularized/application-specific mapping, charting, trip planning, and similar software programs are available for operation on desktop or laptop computers. These software programs, however, must be purchased or obtained and installed on the computer, and the computer operating the software must be available in order to use the software. Automobiles and other transport vehicles are sometimes equipped with displays of electronic maps and/or security and emergency services communications and access devices (e.g., the OnStar™ service in high-end automobiles). These vehicle features are limited to providing or displaying only limited and specific information for the select purposes of the maps and security/emergency services.
The global positioning system (GPS) of the U.S. Department of Defense, operable via satellite and satellite communications, has made it possible with proper equipment to quite specifically and accurately obtain geographic location coordinates. Portable GPS devices communicate via the satellite system to derive the coordinates, and certain of these devices include databases for electronic map displays for the applicable coordinates. The portable GPS devices can be carried by a user to ascertain geographic coordinates of the device and, in certain cases, maps of the locales and surroundings for those coordinates.
The foregoing systems and devices have proven useful to travelers and others for detecting location and route determination. The systems and devices have operated by GPS and/or cellular or other wireless communications and the like. Although the conventional systems and devices can be useful, they are generally very limited in application to mapping, routing, and emergency and security service.
Others have attempted to facilitate information delivery to portable devices used by individuals, for example, certain news, information, multimedia, and other content can be accessed or obtained by certain portable devices having Internet or other applicable network access. Typically, the delivery of this information to these devices has been made through localized wireless (e.g., 802.11), cellular wireless (e.g., CDPD), or wired communications (e.g., telephone line modem access). Certain of this information that is delivered to these devices can be relevant to location of the device, such as via query or other selection by the individual user of the portable device. The substance of this information, however, is conventionally not particularly tailored or specifically relevant to user and device location.
Certain museums or other sites provide automated guided tour systems. These systems have been similarly operated through point-located information (e.g., posted text content or audio/video dissemination at select point-specific locations), localized communication via infrared or the like at point-specific locations (e.g., via kiosk or walk-by accessibility), programmed continuous information delivery (e.g., tape recorded information), and similar systems. These systems that provide automated tour guiding are not readily editable or changeable, as they are conventionally point-specific arrangements and can be varied in design and equipment. Additionally, these systems are not capable of wider-area usage beyond the localized availability of the point-located information and particular delivery facilities therefor.
Certain attempts to provide location-relevant information delivery systems have been made, for example, as described in International Publication No. WO 01/86613, of Pepin, et al., titled “Portable Multimedia Tourist Guide”. In these attempts, GPS receivers are integrated with certain processing capability in order to correlate location data obtained via the GPS with limited data regarding a certain “precise site” or particular point of interest (e.g., device audibly informs a tourist crossing a bridge of the name of the bridge and a point of interest to the right, and the user can query through a device interface for certain text or other limited data regarding the tourist's location). These integration attempts have been hampered and quite restricted because of technological limitations, for example, information available at any location point is limited to what may be then available on a very small storage (e.g., RAM memory, Flash memory, or PCMCIA card memory), or as otherwise from time to time accessed via wireless communications in a client-server arrangement.
These technological limitations restrict usefulness to only certain high-density urban points, only precise sites at any given instance, timing delays required for obtaining additional/supplemental information about a location point or next location point, requirement of ancillary computer carried by the tourist with USB port for download of next information “since one can download only certain predetermined information instead of downloading the whole database”, overwrite of prior information, battery life, and lack of security or controls on devices, information, and use. In fact, it has been concluded by others that, in these foregoing attempts, it “would be impractical to pre-store all necessary information for a given trip” and any “static storage device would very quickly become outdated and would need to be replaced.” Basically, these prior attempts to provide tour information have been little more than a portable device, having limited memory and features, which can from time to time download various snippets of information from a laptop computer carried together with the portable device.
It would, therefore, be a significant advance and improvement in the art and technology to provide location-relevant real-time information systems and methods. It would also be a significant improvement and advance to provide complete tour data via a handheld device, together with security and control of the device, data, and use. Additionally, advantages and improvements of expanded and feature-rich multimedia, editing, complete tour design, and comprehensive and complete tour guides, would make the location-relevant real-time information and systems more robust, diverse, useful, secure, marketable, and user friendly. The present invention provides numerous advantages and improvements, including improvements and nuances in the foregoing respects.